Description

Pleioblastus fortunei, Dwarf Bamboo, is a low-growing leptomorphic bamboo often commonly listed under one of its many synonyms as Pleioblastus pygmaeus. There is also a variegated cultivar Pleioblastus fortunei 'Variegata' which circulates that is often misleadingly labeled as Pleioblastus fortunei.

Pleioblastus fortunei is endemic to the edges of evergreen forests or as a woodland understory in its native Japan. It has also adapted to waste-ground and abandoned fields. It prefers acidic soils and forms a low creeping carpet and although under ideal shady moist conditions it can reach up to 70-80cm it is best kept cut back to a low ground-cover. Like all running bamboos it should have a large space or the ground into which it is grown should be prepared with a root membrane or alternatively it can be grown in a suitable container.

For a long time placed in the genus Sasa, a flowering population in Brazil in 1979 identified the characteristic three stamens of the genus Pleioblastus.

Pleioblastus fortunei, with its zen-like fooliage is the perfect choice for a low planting in a tall ceramic container in an exotic courtyard garden.